Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 25: Zhang Hu, the Master of Army Organization
The six 60mm mortars and two 70mm infantry guns at the rear of the position finally opened fire.

Shells fell one after another at the feet of the attacking Japanese army. The barrage of bullets caused by the explosions temporarily hindered the advance of the Japanese army and created a moment of respite for the frontline positions.

Within the headquarters.

Wang Feng's perspective was always on the three-dimensional battle map in his mind.

The situation remains grim.

Although the Japanese army's offensive came to a halt about 200 meters in front of the enemy's formation, sporadic artillery shells could only stop them temporarily.

"Has the communications squad received the signal?"

"Captain, I got it!"

Wang Feng immediately picked up the microphone: "Zhang Hu!"

"Mobilize the light and heavy machine guns on the left and right to fire at the left and right wings of the position. The Japanese are likely to launch a surprise attack from the flanks!"

Zhang Hu: “Understood!”

In front of the positions on the left and right sides of the regiment was a dense forest and a convex slope. If the Japanese were hiding under the slope, they would be completely invisible to the naked eye during combat.

Da da da!
At the machine gun position, the muzzle spewed flames and fired dense bullets.

The bullet hit the tree trunk, splashing up a cloud of scattered wood chips.

At this time, the Japanese army ambushed the roundabout assault troops on the left and right sides in advance. Seeing that the distance was just right, they launched the first wave of charge.

This place is less than 150 meters away from the front line of the regiment.

The Japanese soldiers who had just rushed to the top of the hill had no time to react before a wave of dense bullets swept towards them.

The Japanese soldier who was rushing in the front was covered in blood and was instantly turned into a hornet's nest.

Inside the first regiment headquarters.

Zhang Hu stood in front of the lookout and could clearly see the entire defensive position through the telescope.

When they saw the Japanese soldiers who had circled around to the two sides just showing their heads, they were beaten and retreated.

He couldn't help but wave his fists in the air, and he wished he could pick up his gun and rush to the front line of the battle.

"Damn it, the commander is so smart and well done!"

"Everyone, defend yourself. After the battle, each of you will get half a pound of roasted sweet potatoes!"

Not only Zhang Hu, but also Wang Feng, who was far away in the headquarters in the rear, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the Japanese troops being beaten back.

The feint attack troops made no progress and the flanking troops were discovered in advance.

Logically speaking, if he were the commander of the Japanese army, he would definitely order a halt to the attack at this time.

Sure enough, after a while, the Japanese troops who were carrying out the offensive mission received orders from the rear and evacuated the battlefield under orderly cover.

Through the three-dimensional combat map in his mind, Wang Feng can more intuitively understand the current detailed status of each unit.

The First Regiment is truly the elite force of the First Temporary Brigade. Not only did it withstand the most attacks, but its overall condition was also the best at the end of the battle.

The system panel divides the degree of organization into three categories.

When it is above 80%, it is displayed in green.

50%-80% is, displayed in yellow.

As you go down, it will become redder and redder until it turns purple.

This means that the troops have completely collapsed.

The regiment suffered one or two hundred casualties in this battle.

The current average degree of organization is light yellow, which means it is only slightly lower than 80%.

If you look more closely, you will find that the organization level of some companies is even green!
And it is currently recovering at a very fast pace.

Wang Feng scratched his head, feeling somewhat surprised.

When the group was bombed by the Japanese before the war, the fluctuation of its organization was also extremely unusual. It had already turned light red, and the specific value was only 40%.

As a result, it turned into a deep yellow color halfway through, and the value rose to 60%.

"Could it be that this idiot Zhang Hu is really a genius in organizing soldiers?"

As for the Second Regiment, the situation was even worse. After one round of attack by the Japanese army, the casualties reached nearly 55 people, and the average organization level dropped to about %.

At this moment, the morale of the entire army has fallen to the lowest point.

This is not Liu Zhijian’s fault.

The overall quality of the soldiers in the Second Regiment was far inferior to that of the First Regiment.

In terms of weapons, two-thirds of the brigade's light and heavy machine guns were deployed in the first regiment, and the artillery company's priority support target was also the first regiment.

Being able to achieve such a record shows that the level of the front-line combat commanders is good enough.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Gao Guizi is a brave general for being able to hold on until now..."

The data in the three-dimensional combat map can show friendly troops in addition to your own troops.

The current situation of the 17th Army is somewhat critical.

The average degree of organization is red, and the recovery rate after the war is extremely slow.

If the Japanese army speeds up its attack frequency, the 17th Army will most likely collapse at the first blow.

There is still a serious shortage of weapons. The existing number of light and heavy machine guns is less than half of the normal standard.

Zhao Fangyuan came over. He had been studying the battle map on the table.

"Captain, I have an idea."

"explain."

"Since the Japanese offensive plan is to constantly detour to the flanks, we can tear open an offensive gap on both wings of our army."

"Then why not send out an ambush force in advance, and wait for the Japanese army to come around and attack them from behind, which may cause greater losses to the Japanese army!"

Wang Feng seemed to be thinking: "You mean to divide the troops?"

Zhao Fangyuan's eyes were firm: "Yes, Commander!"

Wang Feng took off his dusty white gloves and said, "The plan is feasible, but we don't have enough troops to send out now. There are not enough people on each battlefield..."

Zhao Fangyuan pressed his heels together and said loudly: "Commander, I am willing to personally lead the brigade's direct troops to intercept and kill the Japanese army!"

Wang Feng thought about it and nodded: "Okay, you made the battle plan, so you will execute it."

"Take two reserve companies with you, and transfer another company from Zhang Hu. I will give you three companies of troops."

"Go ahead and be safe."

Simply defending will only make one's side more passive.

Wang Feng had actually thought of this plan early on, but at the time he was limited by the shortage of troops in the position, so after much hesitation he decided to give up.

After the first wave of attacks, Wang Feng had a rough estimate of the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Division.

Some troops can be appropriately freed up to implement other plans.

"Yes, thank you, Captain!"

Zhao Fangyuan was overjoyed and ran out quickly.

Wang Feng sat on the chair and switched the view back to the three-dimensional combat map.

The first wave of attack by the Japanese brigade lasted about forty minutes and resulted in the loss of more than one hundred Japanese soldiers.

The damage was not serious, but Itagaki Seishirō must have been extremely anxious.

(End of this chapter)